Her grandmother’s story of leaving home at 17 and moving across the country always intrigued Crystal Kwok.
But the more she learned about Pearl Lum and her Augusta roots, the more Kwok realized there was a bigger story to tell than just that of her grandmother. Kwok’s film “Blurring the Color Line: Chinese in the Segregated South” is the result of her journey; it will be shown as part of the Eighth Annual Black Cat Picture Show at Le Chat Noir, which opens Aug. 18.
“The film took about five years to make,” said Kwok, who was drawn into the story about her grandmother, who was one of 11 children born to an Augusta grocer. Chinese people owned and operated many of the grocery stores particularly within Augusta’s Black community.
The balance of Black and Chinese race relations from the 1930s to the 1950s in Augusta is the thrust of the film.
“The Chinese side kept to themselves,” said Kwok, who lives in Hawaii and is using the film as she works on her doctoral degree. “They had a very isolated life.”
Typically, they lived above their businesses, and many were part of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.
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Another part of Lum’s story is woven into the fabric of the patriarchy of the Chinese culture she grew up in. With her position in the family, Lum was expected to have an arranged marriage, but she was number five on the list to be married off as her older sisters had to go before her.
On the movie’s Facebook page, Kwok often refers to her grandmother as the “unruly” one. Lum even set up a date with a White boy she’d met. The date was held at a Black friend’s home, Kwok said.
As part of her research for the film, Kwok said she received help from Corey Rogers at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History who was able to connect her with people who lived during that time and frequented the Chinese grocery stores. Kwok also has family still living in the Augusta area.
During the course of making the film, the Black Lives Matter movement came to the forefront and there was a rise in Asian hate crimes, giving Kwok additional fuel for her project and letting her know it was bigger than just a story about her grandmother.
“Blurring the Color Line: Chinese in The Segregated South” will be screened at 11 a.m. Sunday during the Black Cat Picture Show.
The film is one of multiple ones that will be shown over the course of the festival.
This year, the show is four days instead of only three — a move that excites program director Duane Brown.
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“Our goal has always been to have a weeklong festival,” he said.
The festival drew “hundreds” of entries for the panel of judges to choose from, and there were enough films that made the cut to add that extra night.
The Black Cat Picture Show opens at 6 p.m. Thursday with a pick whose title bears resemblance to the festival’s name. The opener is “Crazy Cat Lady.”
Brown said many of the Thursday night offerings have local ties to them.
Friday night will offer a screening of an A24 film called “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” a 2021 comedy/mockumentary about the life and times of a one-inch-tall shell that becomes an Internet sensation.
“It’s a really cute film,” Brown said.
Also on Friday is a reception with filmmakers.
Saturday’s fare features science fiction and horror, and the festival ends Sunday with brunch and more movies.
Passes are $10 for Thursday, $20 for Saturday and $30 for Friday and Sunday. A reception and brunch are included in Friday and Sunday’s ticket prices.
All of the films will be shown at Le Chat Noir, 304 Eighth St. Visit lcnaugusta.com/black-cat-picture-show for more information.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor of The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
